Second Sunday of Easter
Divine Mercy Sunday Year A
12 April 2026
INTRODUCTION
Good morning/evening. My name is ………. and I would like to wish you a warm welcome to our Mass at Holy Spirit Church, Kurri Kurri/ St Joseph’s, Cessnock/ St Francis Xavier’s Abermain/ St Michael’s, Wollombi/
The priest celebrating with us today is Father James/Fr Raphael and assisting him is Deacon Viane.
In John’s Gospel on the very first Sunday of the Resurrection, on the evening of the empty tomb, the risen Christ stands among the gathered apostles. He greets them with peace and sends them on mission. He breathes on them saying, Receive the Holy Spirit.
Please stand for the Processional hymn
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
And with your spirit.
Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you,
we bless you,
we adore you,
we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Let us pray.
God of everlasting mercy,
who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast
kindle the faith of the people you have made your own,
increase, we pray, the grace you have bestowed,
that all may grasp and rightly understand
in what font they have been washed,
by whose Spirit they have been reborn,
by whose Blood they have been redeemed.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Acts 2:42-47
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
The faithful lived together and owned everything in common.
The whole community remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone.
The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.
They went as a body to the Temple every day but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Ps 117:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
his love is everlasting.
Let the sons of Israel say:
'His love has no end.'
Let the sons of Aaron say:
'His love has no end.'
Let those who fear the Lord say:
'His love has no end.' R.
I was thrust, thrust down and falling
but the Lord was my helper.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he was my saviour.
There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the just. R.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad. R.
1 Peter 1:3-9
A reading from the first letter of St Peter
He has given us a new birth as his children, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead.
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we have a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away, because it is being kept for you in the heavens. Through your faith, God's power will guard you until the salvation which had been prepared is revealed at the end of time. This is a cause of great joy for you, even though you may for a short time have to bear being plagued by all sorts of trials; so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold - only it is more precious than gold, which is corruptible even though it bears testing by fire - and then you will have praise and glory and honour. You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
John 20:29
Alleluia, alleluia!
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me;
happy those who have not seen me, but still believe!
Alleluia!
John 20:19-31
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
After eight days Jesus came in and stood among them.
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, 'Peace be with you,' and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, :'Peace be with you.
'As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.'
After saying this he breathed on them and said:
'Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.'
Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, 'We have seen the Lord,' he answered, 'Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into his side, I refuse to believe.' Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. 'Peace be with you,' he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.' Thomas replied, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him:
'You believe because you can see me,
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.'
There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Profession of Faith
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
At the words that follow, up to and including 'and became man', all bow.
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Presider: Inspired by Jesus' Easter mission of forgiveness, we now turn to the God of mercy and compassion and make known our needs.
1. For the church, that we may continue to devote ourselves to the teaching of the apostles, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers, praising God and earning the favour of all the people (pause) We seek your face:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
2. That Jesus, who on the first Easter Sunday met His apostles with the beautiful greeting of peace, may turn the hearts of national leaders to the acts of justice that will lead to peace in the world (pause) We seek your face:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
3. That we may obtain the blessing of those who believe without seeing Jesus, as we proclaim Him to be our Lord and our God (pause) We seek your face:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
4. That Jesus, who gave His apostles the power to forgive sins, may renew and purify us on this Mercy Sunday with all the cleansing power of His paschal sacrifice (pause) We seek your face:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
5. For those who are suffering through various trials, whose faith is being tested in the fire, that through Jesus they may emerge stronger and happier in His service (pause) We seek your face:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
6. That the sick will be know the presence of Christ our rock of salvation. (pause) We seek your face:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
7. That those who have died will shine like the sun in God's presence forever, especially our recently deceased including ……. and those whose anniversaries occur at this time namely …….. (pause). We seek your face:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Presider: God of mercy and forgiveness, teach us to forgive others as you forgive us so that we will be ministers of peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands
for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good,
and the good of all his holy Church.
Accept, O Lord, we pray, the oblations of your people
(and of those you have brought to new birth),
that, renewed by confession of your name and by Baptism,
they may attain unending happiness. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
at all times to acclaim you, O Lord,
but (on this night / on this day / in this time) above all
to laud you yet more gloriously,
when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.
For he is the true Lamb
who has taken away the sins of the world;
by dying he has destroyed our death,
and by rising, restored our life.
Therefore, overcome with paschal joy,
every land, every people exults in your praise
and even the heavenly Powers, with the angelic hosts,
sing together the unending hymn of your glory,
as they acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
Let us pray.
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that our reception of this paschal Sacrament
may have a continuing effect
in our minds and hearts.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Bow down for the blessing.
May God, who by the Resurrection of his Only Begotten Son
was pleased to confer on you
the gift of redemption and of adoption,
give you gladness by his blessing.
Amen.
May he, by whose redeeming work
you have received the gift of everlasting freedom,
make you heirs to an eternal inheritance.
Amen.
And may you, who have already risen with Christ
in Baptism through faith,
by living in a right manner on this earth,
be united with him in the homeland of heaven.
Amen.
And may the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son,+ and the Holy Spirit,
come down on you and remain with you for ever.
Amen.
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
Thanks be to God.
© The scriptural quotations are taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Co Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. The English translation of the Psalm Responses, the Alleluia and Gospel Verses, and the Lenten Gospel Acclamations, and the Titles, Summaries, and Conclusion of the Readings, from the Lectionary for Mass © 1997, 1981, 1968, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. The prayers are from the English Translation of the Roman Missal © 2010 International Committee on English in the Liturgy Inc. (ICEL). All rights reserved.